Read More

Mobile phone news

Campaigners claimed the "worrying" findings suggest many drivers are ignoring repeated warnings about the dangers of using phones at the wheel despite a string of publicity campaigns and the risk of harsher sanctions.

From March 1, those who fall foul of the rules have faced receiving six points on their licence and a £200 fine - up from the previous penalty of three points and £100.

The changes mean new drivers risk losing their licence for sending a single text.

Calls for efforts to curb illegal mobile phone use intensified in the wake of a string of high-profile cases and research indicating that it is widespread.

Figures obtained following Freedom of Information requests show forces recorded 5,977 instances of drivers using phones behind the wheel in the four weeks after the clampdown was rolled out alongside a nationwide police campaign.

Read More

The actual figure is likely to be higher as seven forces did not provide figures and some cases may not have been logged at the time FOI responses were issued.

Thames Valley Police recorded the second-largest total at 478, followed by Police Scotland at 339, Hampshire Police at 280 and Cheshire Police at 224.

Some of the incidents reported by police include a man who was spotted doing his online banking while driving along the M5 motorway near Birmingham and a woman stopped by Norfolk police who was responding to a message about her lost puppy being found.

A lorry driver was fined for texting on a bright pink mobile phone while travelling along the M2 in Kent, a 7.5-tonne lorry was driven around a roundabout in Bournemouth by a man using his phone and a driver was on his phone while behind the wheel of a school minibus with 10 children on board in Manchester.